World
Saudi police arrest man who helped Israeli sneak into Mecca
Mecca regional police have arrested an unnamed Saudi nationwide who helped sneak the Israeli reporter into Mecca.
A Saudi man who allegedly helped a Jewish Israeli journalist enter the holy metropolis of Mecca has been arrested, police within the kingdom have stated, after a backlash on social media.
The journalist, Gil Tamary of Israel’s Channel 13, posted on Twitter a video of himself on Monday sneaking into Mecca, Islam’s holiest metropolis, in defiance of a ban on non-Muslims.
Mecca regional police have “referred a citizen” to prosecutors for alleged complicity in “transferring and facilitating the entry of a (non-Muslim) journalist”, a police spokesperson stated in feedback reported by the official Saudi Press Company late on Friday.
SPA didn’t title Tamary however stated he’s an American citizen, implying he had entered the nation utilizing his American passport for the reason that kingdom has no formal ties with Israel.
His case has additionally been referred to prosecutors “to take the required procedures in opposition to him in accordance with the utilized legal guidelines”, regardless of the Israeli nationwide not being within the kingdom.
Whereas Muslims of any nationality and background can enter Mecca, non-Muslims should not permitted as a result of a really particular code of conduct and behavior is required of all individuals inside its boundaries, together with sure types of modesty, ritual cleaning and prayers.
In his roughly 10-minute clip, Tamary visits Mount Arafat, the place robed Muslim pilgrims collect to hope throughout the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage annually.
He makes clear he is aware of that what he’s doing is outlawed however says he needed to showcase “a spot that’s so necessary to our Muslim brothers and sisters”.
Tamary left the mount after he stated the non secular police started asking him questions to ensure he was a Muslim.
The general public backlash over Tamary’s go to was quick on social media, with Muslims and Saudis expressing their anger over his deception and obvious disregard for the sanctity of the positioning.
إذا كان مسلم فأهلاً وسهلاً به بغض النظر عن جنسيته .. أما إذا كان غير مسلم فأتمنى أن يتم التحقيق معه ومع من تعاون معه ومعرفة كيف دخل إلى الحرم المقدس .. ماحرمه الله سبحانه في القرآن الكريم لا يمكن السكوت والتغاضي عنه .. اللهم إنا نبرأ إليك من هذا الفعل ومن رضي به
#يهودي_في_الحرم pic.twitter.com/zB5YaAhaxk— عبد الإله🇸🇦 (@MloveM_) July 18, 2022
Translation: If he’s a Muslim, he’s welcome no matter his nationality. But when he’s not a Muslim, I hope that he will likely be investigated and with those that cooperated with him and understand how he entered the Holy Sanctuary. What God has forbidden within the Holy Quran can’t be tolerated and neglected.
الإعلام السعودي يصرّ على استغفالنا. أنا أدري إنه صحفي اسرائيلي يحمل جوازا أمريكيا، وأنتم كلكم تعرفون كذلك، والحكومة نفسها تعرف ذلك ومنحته إذنا خاصا للعمل مراسلا لشركة اعلامية اسرائيلية ضاربة بعرض الحائط نظام مقاطعة اسرائيل، والصحفي نفسه في الفيديو تفاخر بأنه أول اسرائيلي ادخل مكة https://t.co/8GNxQST8Ve
— سلطان العامر (@sultaan_1) July 22, 2022
Translation: The Saudi media insists on ignoring what we all know. I do know he’s an Israeli journalist with an American passport, and also you all realize it, and the [Saudi] authorities itself is aware of that, and gave him particular permission to work as a reporter for an Israeli media firm. The journalist himself within the video boasted that he was the primary Israeli to enter Mecca.
The incident comes as Saudi-Israeli ties have been quietly rising amid shared issues over Iran. Publicly, the dominion insists its coverage is that full ties can solely occur when Palestinian statehood and rights are assured.
The reporter and Channel 13 responded on Twitter after the report aired. The information channel, in each Hebrew and Arabic, stated Tamary’s report was pushed by “journalistic curiosity” and a want to witness and see issues first hand.
Police referred to as on guests to respect Saudi Arabia’s legal guidelines, significantly in terms of Mecca and Islam’s holiest websites within the kingdom.
World
Trump Moves to Delay Sentencing in Hush Money Case, Court Document Shows
World
Who is Pierre Poilievre? Canada's Conservative leader seeking to become next prime minister after Trudeau exit
OTTAWA, Canada— With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Monday morning that he will step down as Liberal Party leader, whoever succeeds him will face Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative Party has nearly three times the support of committed voters (47% compared to 18% for the Liberals) in this year’s general election.
First elected to the House of Commons in 2004, 45-year-old, Calgary-born Poilievre, 45, became leader of the Canadian Conservatives in 2022 and has seen his party grow in popularity as Canadians have grown tired of 53-year-old Trudeau, whose Liberals formed government in 2015.
“Bring home the Canadian dream” has been one of the Conservatives’ major themes, and Poilievre has cast the Liberals as governing with ‘an extremely radical ideology,’ which he described as “basically authoritarian socialism,” in a recent 90-minute interview with popular podcast host Jordan Peterson.
CANADA’S TRUDEAU ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION FOLLOWING PARTY PRESSURE AMID CRITICISMS OF TRUMP, BUDGET HANDLING
“People are sick and tired of grandiosity,” said Poilievre. “Horrendous, utopian wokeism” serves, he said, “egotistical personalities on top,” rather than “common people.”
Trudeau has said that Poilievre wants to “make Canada great again,” comparing the Tory leader to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” mantra.
But while Poilievre’s populist messaging has generated comparisons to Trump’s political approach, the Canadian Conservative leader has pushed back the president-elect’s recent comments about making Canada the 51st state.
“I have the strength and the smarts to stand up for this country and my message to incoming President Trump is that first and foremost, Canada will never be the 51st state of the U.S.,” Poilievre said in an interview with Canadian broadcaster, CTV News, before Christmas.
The incoming Trump administration will almost assuredly deal with a Poilievre government as the Conservatives are poised to win the next Canadian election, which could come as early as this spring. When the House of Commons resumes sitting on March 24, the opposition parties are likely to defeat the minority Liberal government in a vote of no-confidence, which would trigger a national vote.
In his Peterson interview, Poilievre acknowledged that Trump — who has proposed a 25% tariff against Canadian exports — “negotiates very aggressively, and he likes to win.” But as prime minister, the Conservative leader said that he would seek “a great deal that will make both countries safer, richer and stronger.”
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Poilievre said that he would accelerate approvals to build oil refineries, liquefied natural gas plants and nuclear facilities, and increase its electricity surplus with the U.S.
He also told Peterson that Canada sells its oil and gas to the U.S. at “enormous discounts,” which he characterized as a “ripoff,” in which “Canada is ripping itself off.”
A Poilievre-led government would also embark on “the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history” and that “habitual offenders will not get out of jail anymore,” the Conservative leader said.
On foreign affairs, the Canadian Conservatives’ 2023 policy document states that it would, as government, “take the required steps to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. to close the gaps relating to illegal entries in Canada,” and that the Conservative Party recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Canada’s embassy in Israel is currently in Tel Aviv.
In a statement released in response to Trudeau’s resignation on Monday, Poilievre said that “this changes nothing” and that a Conservative Canadian government would “take back control of our border, take back control of immigration, take back control of spending, deficits and inflation. Take back control of our streets by locking up criminals, banning drugs, treating addiction and stopping gun smugglers.”
The Conservatives, added Poilievre, “would secure borders, rearm our forces, restore our freedom and put Canada First.”
World
US Congress certifies Donald Trump’s victory in 2024 presidential election
The quiet proceeding contrasts with efforts by Trump’s own supporters to overturn his 2020 loss by storming the US Capitol.
The United States Congress has certified Donald Trump’s victory in November’s presidential election, clearing a final hurdle for his return to the White House later this month.
Monday’s ceremony in Congress officially validated the 2024 Electoral College results.
Overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s main rival in the election, the event passed quickly and with little fanfare.
“Today was obviously a very important day,” Harris, who also serves as the president of the Senate, said in remarks afterwards.
“It was about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to take for granted, which is that one of the most important pillars of our democracy is that there will be a peaceful transfer of power.”
The largely procedural affair marked a stark contrast with the last time Congress convened to certify Electoral College votes, on January 6, 2021.
During that ceremony, thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to overturn then-President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.
Lawmakers were forced to evacuate as doors were smashed, police officers were attacked and one protester was shot to death while trying to enter a chamber through a broken window.
The attack took place after Trump held a rally nearby on the Ellipse, a park south of the White House, where he reiterated false claims that the election had been stolen through massive fraud.
Critics roundly condemned the attack as an assault on democracy, and the US Department of Justice has since charged 1,583 participants with federal crimes.
As of Monday, approximately 1,009 have pleaded guilty, with 327 offering guilty pleas to felony charges.
Trump himself faced two criminal indictments for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results: A federal case in Washington, DC, was recently dismissed, while a state-level case in Georgia is stalled but ongoing.
Nevertheless, four years later, Trump is set to return to power on the heels of his most successful presidential campaign to date.
In November, Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Harris’s 226 and became the first Republican candidate to win the popular vote since 2004.
Trump’s Republican Party will also take control of Congress after winning majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Many in the party have since embraced the Republican leader’s false claims about the 2020 election.
“Congress certifies our great election victory today – a big moment in history. MAGA!” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social on Monday, using an acronym for his slogan, “Make America Great Again”.
Harris, meanwhile, urged respect for the tenets of US democracy. She cited Monday’s peaceful certification as an example of the right way forward.
“I do believe very strongly that America’s democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it,” she said. “Otherwise it is very fragile, and it will not be able to withstand moments of crisis.”
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